Barbashev, Golden Knights Edge Ducks 3-1 in Game 1 Sport By lines May 5, 2026 Vegas Golden Knights held off the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 in NHL Playoffs Game 1 Monday at T-Mobile Arena. Ivan Barbashev scored the go-ahead goal 65 seconds after the Ducks tied the score. Vegas leads the best-of-seven Western Conference Second Round series 1-0. How Barbashev Ended the Ducks’ Third-Period Surge Brett Howden opened the scoring for Vegas at 3:14 of the second period. Mitch Marner delivered a backdoor pass, and Howden tapped the puck into an open net at the left post. The Golden Knights held that 1-0 lead into the third period. Mikael Granlund tied the game 1-1 at 13:57 of the third after a Carter Hart rebound kicked free toward Granlund. Ivan Barbashev recaptured the Vegas lead just 65 seconds after Granlund’s equalizer. Pavel Dorofeyev skated through two Anaheim defenders and sent a cross-crease backhand to Barbashev. Barbashev buried the puck into the open net at the left post at 15:02 of the third. Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal at 19:54 to complete the 3-1 final. Carter Hart made 33 saves on 34 Anaheim shots to anchor the Vegas victory. Lukas Dostal made 19 saves for the Ducks in the loss. Brett Howden extended a scoring streak to four straight playoff games. William Karlsson returned to the Golden Knights lineup for the first time since Nov. 8 after a lower-body injury. Karlsson won 7 of 13 face-offs in 11:09 of ice time. Game 2 is Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena (9:30 ET, HBO Max/truTV/TNT). Related Sports Coverage Taylor Hall OT Goal Beats Flyers 3-2 in Game 2 Hurricanes Blank Flyers 3-0, Take 1-0 Series Lead Avalanche Outlast Wild 9-6 in Historic Playoff Opener Source: NHL.com.
